Olympia, Washington has a solution for their homeless population for just $1,200 per person.
Similar to Opportunity Village Eugene in Oregon, Quixote Village (once Camp Quixote) is a nonprofit village made up of tiny homes for members of the homeless community. The village is made up of 30 tiny cottages with 144 square feet per unit, a community village with kitchen and showers and a vegetable garden.
Similar to Opportunity Village Eugene in Oregon, Quixote Village (once Camp Quixote) is a nonprofit village made up of tiny homes for members of the homeless community. The village is made up of 30 tiny cottages with 144 square feet per unit, a community village with kitchen and showers and a vegetable garden.
It is a self-governing community that cost a total of $3.05 million—$1.5 million from the state’s Department of Commerce’s Housing Trust Fund, $215,000 in donations from the community, $699,000 from federal Community Development Block Grant funding, and the remaining $170,000 from Thurston County recording fees. Per cottage, the cost was $19,000 per unit. Further services were generously donated by civil engineers and Quixote Village’s architect. It has received a silver medal in Urban Excellence in a national competition sponsored by the Rudy Bruner Foundation.
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How does it work?
Rapid rehousing is a recent method for solving the housing crisis for homeless people. Small rental subsidies are given to homeless applicants to move in quickly and comfortably. According to Sidewalk—the local organization in Thurston County that, “[combines] volunteerism and intensive community engagement with data-driven, evidence-based methods to accomplish [their] mission," it is followed up with, “intensive case management to ensure stability,” resulting in success for 80 to 90% of the homeless population.
Potential residents apply through Sidewalk. Applicants must go through background checks and drug tests and not have recent charges on their record related to theft, violence and no warrants out for their arrest. No applicants registered as sex offenders may be admitted.
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How will this impact the homeless population?
As opposed to controversial laws that harm the homeless more than help (such as the February 2007 law that forbade people from lying or sitting on sidewalks), the method takes away waiting endlessly in lines outside of food kitchens and homeless shelters. Residents will have a more stable life and reenter society with success. Sidewalk reports they have moved 500 people out of shelters and wandering the streets to permanent housing under three years.